Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published: October 26,2022
By Staff Writer
Since last Sunday, leaders from different countries and political organizations have sent congratulatory messages to China on the successful conclusion of the CPC Congress which has significant contribution towards global development. Delegates from all parts of the country and from diverse ethnic backgrounds participated in the Congress where they re-elected president Xi Jinping as the general secretary of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC.
As progressive leaders congratulated China and the Chinese people happy with the outcome of the 20thCPC congress, western media was full of articles talking about how long president Xi has been in power, rather than appreciating the will of the people to retain him as the leader of the ruling party because of his record achievements. The accomplishments of China since Xi came to power are an indicator of his transformational leadership qualities.
The Wall street Journal for example wrote that, “Mr. Xi dominates Chinese politics in ways that no leader has since Mao Zedong. A third term gives him more leeway to achieve his biggest goals: achieving a ‘national rejuvenation’ that transforms China into a global power and armoring the country for a confrontation with the West.” This kind of mind-set that looks at China’s national rejuvenation in terms of only gaining military power for the purpose of “confrontation with the west” is not only myopic and absurd, but reveals that the reverse is true. As China progresses, the west is busy plotting how to sabotage its development, including strategies like using Taiwan to spark a proxy war.
China follows “whole-process people’s democracy”, which is embedded in Xi Jinping thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristic for a New Era. This philosophy has been anchored in China’s Constitution. China’s socialist whole-process people’s democracy can be described as, “from the people, to the people, with the people, for the people”. Whole-process people’s democracy includes the whole process of decision-making, management and supervision, election etc, in such a way that meets people’s expectations and providing solutions to their daily challenges.
There is no standard model of democracy applicable to all countries of the world. Different countries have different choices depending on the will of the people, their aspirations, history and cultural realities. For the west always to assume that their type of democracy should be the world model and want to force it on others is simply disrespect of other countries’ civilization. The west therefore, should respect political choices of other countries knowing well that what is good for them is not necessarily a better choice for others. Democracy is a concrete phenomenon that is constantly evolving. Rooted in history, culture and tradition, it takes diverse forms and develops along the paths chosen by different peoples based on their aspirations and contextual realities or innovations.
The west prefers to call other countries ‘un democratic’, when such countries have done much more for their citizens than the west does for its people. China practices real democracy, because it believes the “people are the masters of the country”. China’s whole-process people’s democracy has shown that the power lies with the people and not the leaders to determine how they wish to be governed; themselves participating in the governance process and enjoying the benefits of the development.
Whole-process people’s democracy is a complete system with supporting mechanisms and procedures, and has been fully tested through wide participation. The CPC upholds democracy within the Party and practices democratic elections, decision-making, management and oversight, to better serve the development of people’s democracy. The CPCleadership is the fundamental guarantee for whole-process people’s democracy. In order to represent and find solution to challenges affecting 14 billion people, China must have a well-coordinated and functioning centralized leadership.
